60 LAUFER, THE DECORATIVE ART OF THE AMUR TRIBES. 



element of the ornament in Fig. 5 consists of two superposed confronting cocks. 

 The spirals which represent the tails are rolled outside in the upper pair, and 

 inside in the lower ones. On either side of the upper cock is a conventionalized 

 bipartite fish. Both of these and also the large cocks form ornamental figures 

 with the adjacent corresponding cocks or fishes of the neighboring rectangles. 

 Fig. 6 illustrates a structure related to that of the preceding one. Four 

 heart-shaped figures (/&amp;gt;) are clustered in the centre in a square. Above their 

 points, in the direction of the diagonal of the square, in each of the four 

 quarters, is a cross, its two side-arms terminating in spirals (c), and its rounded 

 extremity (a) being adorned with a pair of fishtail-formed triskeles. 



Fig. i, Plate xxv, represents an embroidered quadrangular piece placed 

 on its point, used on the cape of a winter hood. The ornament represents a 

 spiral structure that decreases in size as it proceeds upward. In the centre (black) 

 are two cocks rampant developed from the fish-form ; to the right and left of 

 these, two conventionalized birds, their necks and heads stretched upward. The 

 confusion of the single ornamental parts here has been carried to such an extent 

 that the circular object has been taken away from the beak and placed in front of 

 the two falcations of the tail, which thus convey the impression that they are 

 beaks. In corroboration of the idea of the wing-feathers, which are expressed 

 by the upper of the two tail-flukes, appears by the side of it a parallel crescent. 

 This distortion proves sufficiently well that the conception of ihe original 

 meaning of the ornament has diminished in clearness. Almost all elements of 

 this decoration, aside from the pure spirals, are either birds necks with beaks, or 

 spurs, or small ovals. The original types are on the verge of being dissolved 

 into single disconnected and sometimes misunderstood parts : the principle of 

 symmetrical and tasteful arrangement, however, is still observed. 



An embroidered pattern for a pair of wristers is shown in Fig. 2 of this plate. 

 The edges are decorated with single spur-lines above and below. The same 

 style of line is also used to surround other figures. In the uppermost section 

 of the ornamentation we find two facing combatant fishes, ending below in 

 spirals, their heads surrounded by a figure formed of two spur-lines. Below 

 them is a four-leaved rosette. Between two pairs of facing spirals are observed 

 two conventionalized bipartite fishes in the act of swimming; farther below, two 

 cocks rampant whose heads are connected by a semicircle. Over the spirals 

 forming the tails of these birds are bipartite fishes. 



We will now turn to some fantastic compositions occurring on embroidered 

 material. On the triangular pattern of raised embroidery (Fig. 3, Plate xxv) 

 are, in the upper part, two combatant musk-deer with two legs and scrolled tails. 

 To the right and left of the compound facing spirals under them we see two long 

 outstretched bird-heads, the upper line of which is formed by a brace. The 

 outlines constituting the head continue downward into two parallel spirals. The 

 ornament on the embroidered band (Fig. 4) is made up of two semicircles. In 

 the two ends of each are visible two cock-heads side by side, with two circles 



